Creating Britain was a task that would involve a tenacious and often tyrannous effort by monarchs, politicians and defenders of England. This essay will firstly give an account of how the unification of the kingdoms of England and Scotland was succeeding in 1603 and then compare and contrast this with the situation in 1707. The two dates mark an optimistic view of what James wanted to be a 'perfect union'. However a closer analysis indicates that Scotland and England would not prove to be an easy union. This period in history shows that you cannot simply impose yourself on a nation that has little or no wish to accept your invitation to unite. This unification is one characterised more by legislation than any noticeable bond between the two kingdoms, showing little harmony or depth to show for itself. In the next century however changes would be made to allow for a more convincing union of the kingdoms in 1707. This second act of unification however was still somewhat of a farce, but did mark a time where England and Scotland seemed to be working together, even if a large degree of altruism was involved on both sides of the boarder.

James eventually backed down to Parliament's inability to see his vision. This failure to achieve his idea of 'one king, one people, and one law' signalled the beginning of over a century in which England and Scotland remained separate Kingdoms while living under a 'double crown'. Just over a hundred years later brings us to the point of comparison 1707 and what is called the 'union of the kingdoms'.

Scotland had surrendered parliamentary independence in return for free trade. Her distinctive legal and religious structures were preserved, and her educational system grew up independent of England. Although the use of the Gaelic language decline quite rapidly, Scotland's native culture was incredibly resilient, and the eighteenth century witnessed the seminal intellectual achievements of the Scottish Enlightenment. The Union of the Kingdoms has already lasted nearly three times longer than the union of the crowns that it superseded. In paved the way for what would later become a truly Great Britain and whilst many gaps and anomalies remained in the relationship between the two countries, Britain was more convincingly a nation in 1707 than in 1603. This is due to a more wider scope of acceptance, regardless of the means, and a more secure establishment. However the nation of 'Britain' still had many flaws; the union was one made rashly and one of compromise and sacrifice.

Many have argued that the Scottish elite were bought by the English into the union. Robert Burns argued that Scotland's leaders were 'bought and sold for English gold', (4) and quite clearly the financial inducements that accompanied the union cannot be ignored. Indeed there is evidence to suggest that some key individuals such as Hamilton, voted for union because they received 'bribes'. On the other hand it is important not to underestimate the growth of principled support for the union in Scotland. A significant number did so because they genuinely believed it was the best course of action for Scotland. However it remains that this does not mean that the union was one that created a more convincing notion of Britain. Bullying tactics naturally cause resentment and Britain did little to earn the long-term respect of the Scottish. However the union was more widely established than the previous union of the crowns in 1603 and stood for much more.

Prior to the union of 1707 Scotland took many sharp efforts to actually create an independence from England, acting in direct competitio

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Approximate Word count = 1684
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)